Obama 'obviously aware' of cold

1/7/14 12:50 PM EST

President Barack Obama knows about the severe cold snap affecting much of the nation, an aide said Tuesday, but there's no word yet of a formal or informal briefing for the president on the disruption, danger and deaths caused by the bitter chill.

"The President is obviously aware" of widespread cold, a White House official said Tuesday in response to a query Monday from POLITICO about whether and how the nation's chief executive was monitoring the cold spell.

Obama himself briefly alluded to the cold Tuesday during a White House event focused on the expiration of unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed.

White House spokesman Bobby Whithorne said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was monitoring the impact of the cold, which snarled travel and led the public schools in Obama's hometown of Chicago to shutdown both Monday and Tuesday. At least 16 deaths have been attributed to the weather, mostly from car accidents.

“While there have been no requests for federal assistance, FEMA is monitoring the weather and in contact with state, local and tribal partners through its regional offices," Whithorne said. "We urge residents to be safe and follow directions from local officials. If they say to stay off the roads, avoid travel unless in an emergency.”

In past weather emergencies, the White House has gone out of its way to tell the press and public about briefings for Obama on the preparations and response. In early October, Obama got at least two briefings on the anticipated landfall of Tropical Storm Karen, which turned out to be a bust—at least in the U.S.

Those briefings took place as the White House was trying to highlight the impact of the government shutdown on services Americans have come to expect from government. But this administration practice of detailing the president's awareness of and involvement in disaster response can be traced to the massive Gulf oil spill in 2010, when early news coverage suggested he wasn't adequately involved in monitoring the federal response. To combat the initial appearances, the White House thereafter went out of its way to emphasize Obama's personal role in overseeing the government's reaction.

The White House press corps, perhaps distracted by Press Secretary Jay Carney's new beard, did not ask about the record-cold weather during the regular news briefing for reporters on Monday.

At Tuesday's news briefing, Carney was asked about the cold and confirmed—on the record—Obama's general awareness of the freezing temperatures.

"The president is certainly aware of the dramatic weather that parts of the country have been experiencing," Carney said, before repeating nearly verbatim the statement offered above.

"We are confident that the team at FEMA is monitoring this closely and that if there is an issue that requires federal assistance, they'll be on top of it," the press secretary said in response to a question about whether Obama was involved in directing a federal response.

UPDATE (Tuesday, 1:45 PM): This post has been updated with Carney's comments.